A Ranger in Middle Earth
by RooftopTenshi
Summary: I opened my eyes and blinked several times. Where the hell am I? Who the hell am I? Why in the wide world is Legolas Greenleaf standing in front of me? As far as I could tell, I was a Ranger from the corps of Araluen stuck in the story of Lord of the Rings. And Legolas was assigned to watch over me in case I do something bad. I swear I'm in a dream.
1. Chapter 1

I opened my eyes and blinked several times. There was a soft light filtering through the trees above me. I watched the breeze play with the branches for a while. It was a gentle breeze, soft and pleasant. I noticed how quiet it was. How peaceful. There were a few birds singing in the distance and the rustle of leaves around me, but it was as if I stepped into a world with no worries, no stress, just peace.

I felt a pain in my back so I twisted around it. I sat up and saw it was a small pebble. I looked around again.

 _Where the hell am I?_

The terrain was unfamiliar but pleasant.

 _I am really confused. Starting to freak out. I swear like 5 minutes ago I just went to… Wait… What was I doing? I remember that day I felt really frustrated at everything, so I went and… Curled up in bed with my favourite book! Ah, yes that was it._

 _Still, where the hell am I now?_

I stood up and stretched. For some reason I felt taller. I wondered where I was. It almost looked like a place that could have come out of _Lord Of The Rings_. I started walking. Not sure what direction, but towards the sound of the birds.

It was nice here. Far away from my troubles. Except that I was in a strange place.

 _I wonder if there are people here? Maybe they are old-fashioned, like the characters in my stories. That would be nice. I've always wanted to live in one of my stories._

I sensed a presence behind me and turned my head slightly to look back. I glimpsed a flash of white that disappeared behind the trees. My senses heightened, I continued cautiously, but at the same speed I was travelling before, so no one would have noticed that I had noticed something strange.

My head clouded up suddenly, going fuzzy and not concentrating, I stopped and shook my head to clear it.

 _What is this? Like a giant cloud just swooped over my brain. I felt a bit dizzy, like when you stand up after sitting down for a while and your vision goes black._

As it disappeared, I looked up to have several very sharp looking arrows pointed at my head.

I jumped, startled and saw four people with long hair surround me. They were tall and slender, and they all had very dangerous looking weapons in their belts and on their backs. They wore old fashioned clothing from a long time ago, like hunters.

I have no idea how they moved so silently, but I was impressed, if a little afraid. I looked towards the man closest to me, and saw sharp cheekbones, pale skin, white-blonde hair and, and… pointy ears? Who has pointy ears?

My mind flickers back to something I read, in what seemed a long time ago. _Lord Of The Rings._ It seems like I have been transported back to Middle-Earth. Nah. It's probably just someone playing a prank on me. Pretty well thought out though. It seems real. I would love it to be real.

Elves. That's it! These men must be Elves. Wood Elves or something.

"Who are you?" A clear, sharp voice cut my thoughts.

I flicked my eyes up to meet the elves'. "I am Alexander Arratay."

I wondered why I said that. That was not my name. It just came to me and I said it. I can't remember saying it ever before. The Elf stared at me for a little longer and I got a shiver down my spine. I did not avert my gaze until another Elf said, "Lord Elrond will be waiting."

Elrond? This is so a re-enactment from _Lord Of The Rings_. I looked closer at the Elf who seemed to be the leader. Huh. Surely not. This cannot be the famous Legolas Greenleaf. No way. I must be dreaming. This place doesn't look like Mirkwood anyway.

I spoke quietly, not really sure if I wanted my question to be heard.

"Are you Legolas?"

The quiet question was met with silence, so I assumed they had not heard. That was fine by me. Probably best if no one heard. We walked on a bit longer through the forest in silence.

I had almost forgotten about my question when he replied.

"I am." He paused. "How do you know my name?" His soft, silky voice was tilted up curiously.

The first thought that came to my head was _holy shit_ , this is the Legolas for LOTR. O my fricking gawd. I am going to die of happiness. I almost bounced on my heels before I realised he was waiting for an answer. Then I realised I had no idea what to answer.

"Uh... I heard it somewhere?" My answer came out more as a question than a fact, but I stuck with it and tried to cover up the question.

"I heard it from a friend a long time ago." I paused. I had his attention now. "You were in a story, a great story that has stuck with me through the years."

I guess this is kind of right. I mean, I did read LOTR as a young child.

"Will you tell me the tale?" Legolas asked.

I hesitated. If I really was in the LOTR world, I needed to be careful about what I said. I didn't know what year it was. His story may not have happened yet.

"Depends. I may. Are we going to Rivendell?" I changed the subject. I had decided that this forest looked more like the land outside of Rivendell more than any other place I recognised.

Luckily, Legolas let the subject drop and replied with a quick yes, before resuming our silent walk.

We walked around a corner and I gasped. The sight before me was so unreal. Rivendell stood in all its mighty glory before me, straight out of the LOTR books. This could not be a prank. It was definitely real.

We walked over the bridge and towards where Elrond stood waiting. I slowed down a bit, letting the Elves go in front of me.

A thought struck me while I was walking. If Legolas was in Rivendell, that means I could be close to the time of Frodo's adventure. Or Legolas could just be taking a message from his father in Mirkwood to Elrond.

Legolas walked to Elrond and said, "This is Alexander Arratay. We came across him in the woods."

Elrond turned to me and looked over me with piercing eyes. "Where are you from, Alexander Arratay?" He said in a rich voice.

The other Elves turned towards me curiously. I thought desperately for an answer but came up with none. I could not remember the land of Middle-Earth.

In the end I said, "From a land far away, not on any maps here."

This piqued some curiosity from the Elves as they wondered who I was. I, in turn, desperately needed to know what year it was to find out where in the story I was and what I could say.

The first question I thought of that would not reveal to much I asked before Elrond could speak again.

"Is Bilbo Baggins here?"

Elrond turned sharp eyes on me. "Why do you ask, friend?"

To which I replied, "Please, just tell me, I need to know."

Still looking curious, Elrond replied that Bilbo was indeed here. Helping me slightly but not much, I asked another question.

"What birthday is his nearest?"

To which Elrond replied, "He is halfway through his 127th year. Why do you need to know?"

I shook slightly. No. No. I had been transported to Middle-Earth, in the LOTR plotline, and the war was just beginning. I ran my hand through my hair in worry.

My hand stilled as I stopped in surprise. I ran my hand through my hair again. It was short. Short and not long. I had always had long hair. Long hair that I tied back in a ponytail. Like most girls in the year 2017. Girls? But I said my name was Alexander. I have changed gender and my thoughts have been messed with?

I was gaining more curious looks from the Elves as I ran my hands through my hair again. I turned away and ignored them. Still ignoring them I curiously ran my hands over my chest. It was flat. Strong, hard and flat. This is weird. I have changed gender. I looked down at my hands and saw long, graceful fingers. Strong, but delicate. So some of my female features remain?

Some of the Elves had their hands edging towards their weapons, not sure what I was doing. I ignored them and ran my hands over my face. I felt a different structure. I could not tell what I looked like. Maybe my brain had been transported into another body? Who knows. It still felt like mine though. I looked around for a pool of water. I saw a fountain in the corner of the courtyard and moved quickly towards it.

Several Elves drew an arrow and knocked it to their bows. Again, I ignored them. I looked down into the water and saw a handsome, slightly feminine, but male, face. Wow. This is so weird. I looked at my reflection again. I was wearing a mottled grey-green cloak and had a quiver and bow slung over my back. I reached up to my bow and pulled it over my shoulder.

In the corner of my eye I saw several Elves draw their bows. I heard Legolas say to Elrond that I looked like I had never seen myself before. And that was true, at least for this new body.

My bow was a long bow, beautifully carved. I held it up and pulled it back. I felt muscles in my back and shoulders easily take the load. It felt like an 80 pound draw weight. I slowly let the bow string back and put the bow over my shoulders. This is weird, I would never have been able to draw that in my other life. I looked at my waist and saw two knives. A small one and a bigger one. These weapons seemed really familiar to me. In a way that I could use them and also in a way that reminded me of something or someone.

I paused and turned back to the Elves. As I did so I felt something bump against my chest. I reached up and pulled out a silver chain. Attached to the end of it, was a silver oakleaf.

The symbol for a King's Ranger.

I thought for a moment and put all the pieces together.

I had been a 16 year old girl in the year 2017, who loved reading and absolutely loved _Lord Of The Rings_ and _Ranger's Apprentice_ and had always wished to be a part of them. Now, I had somehow been transformed into a King's Ranger, not sure what skill level, and been teleported back in time to the Middle-Earth just before the Fellowship of the Ring forms.

At that moment, a little piece of text from LOTR came to me, and I murmured under my breath:

 _Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky,_

 _Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their halls of stone,_

 _Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,_

 _One for the Dark Lord in his dark throne_

 _In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie._

 _One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,_

 _One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them_

 _In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie._

I felt the eyes of all the Elves on me.

I turned to Elrond.

"May I stay here for several days? I am waiting for my horse. He will find me easier if I stay in one place." I am assuming that if I am a King's Ranger from _Ranger's Apprentice_ then I would have a horse.

Elrond replied, "How do I know to trust you, stranger? You speak strangely and you act as though you have never before seen yourself? How do I trust you?"

I looked him in the eye and said, "There is no reason for you to trust me but my word. I speak strangely because I am not from here. And I acted rightly so. I have never seen myself before." I paused for a moment. "I cannot give you any reason at the moment to trust me. I have a reason for you to trust me but I cannot tell you in the present time. I would camp in the forest but my gear is with my horse. Will you allow me to stay?"

Lord Elrond thought for a moment, before turning to Legolas.

"Legolas, I trust you. Arratay will stay with you."

Internally, I felt like I just imploded. In my other world, I absolutely loved Legolas and wished I could meet him. In this world, I had just been assigned to stay with him so he could watch over me. Damn, I must be in heaven. Although, now I am in a male body, I do not know if he would even swing that way. Chances are, I don't stand a chance.

While I was musing, I missed the death glare Legolas sent to Elrond, and the mischievous twinkle in Elrond's eyes. I also missed the soft tinkling laughter of some of the Elves as they realised what was going on.

I followed Legolas into his chamber. When we got there, he turned around gracefully and told me, "Tell me the truth."

I blinked and sighed. I knew I could trust Legolas. "Which truth?" I asked.

It was his turn to blink as he realised that I basically admitted I hadn't told the truth.

I spoke again. "Start simple. I do not really know myself."

The Elf asked quickly, "Are you really waiting for your horse?"

I paused in surprise. I wasn't expecting that question.

"That is difficult for me to answer, for I do not really know."

He nodded. Then he spoke again. "Start from the beginning. You can trust me. Nothing will leave these rooms."

I looked at the graceful Elf. "I know I can trust you. So I will tell you a small truth."

He looked confused as I said I knew I could trust him, but let it be and walked over to the benches and sat, leaning against the wall. My eyes followed his every move, watching as he gracefully sat down. I followed him, not nearly as graceful, and leant my bow and quiver against the wall before sitting down near the Elf.

I knew I could not tell him I knew the future, otherwise there would be questions. So I decided on a short, mostly truthful tale.

I closed my eyes and began to speak.

"When I was younger, I loved to read. I read absolutely everything. But there were two series of books that I absolutely loved." I paused. I decided not to mention what specifically was in the books to avoid questions. "They were two different worlds, one I loved for the characters, and one I loved for the story. Several hours ago, I woke up in this forest. Not completely sure how I got there, but it felt familiar. Like I said earlier, I come from a place very far away, not known to the people here. Not on any of your maps either."

I paused again and took a deep breath. "This place, seems to be like one of the stories I love."

I looked over at Legolas and said, "You know how weirdly I acted when I got here? Like I hadn't seen myself before?" He nodded. "That's because I haven't. Not like this. It's like my minds been shifted into another body. When I tested my bow, I could pull it back easily. I couldn't do that before, when I wasn't like this." I gestured to myself. "So, I think, this," Pointing to myself again, "is from my other story that I loved."

I fell silent for a while.

Eventually, Legolas broke the silence. "So why are you waiting for a horse?"

I opened my eyes. "Well, if I was from this character's story, I would have a horse. I'm not sure about this, but it's worth a hope."

Legolas, hummed, signifying his understanding. "How well do you shoot? I have never seen a bow like that. Can I hold it?"

I looked at my bow. "I don't know how well I shoot. For my mind, I would say I should terribly, but from when I picked it up, I could say I shoot well."

Legolas looked confused a bit. I picked up the bow and passed it to him. He stood up and drew it back. Well, tried to. He got halfway.

"This is a powerful weapon. I cannot wield it." He murmured. He turned to me, "You must be strong to wield this weapon, it is stronger than my own. Will you let me see you shoot it?" He passed the bow back to me.

I took it and replied, "If you have a place I can shoot. I do not know how well I will shoot, so this could be humiliating."

Legolas replied, "We have a place in Rivendell. It is not private, but it will prove your trustworthiness to the Elves by showing how well you fight and your weaknesses."

I stood up as Legolas motioned me to walk beside him.

As we walked, I tried not to let my inner fangirl out. _Actual freakin' Legolas is right next to me! Ahhhhhh! Sooo cool!_ I couldn't help but let a small smile grace my lips as I walked next to Legolas.

I noticed that several Elves were following us quietly, with weapons at the ready. We walked out to the edge of Rivendell into a large clearing with several trees. It was a pretty place, and I noticed quite a few Elves hiding behind the trees.

Legolas stopped walking when he reached the middle of the clearing. I stopped a bit away from him. He looked at me and then pointed to several thick pieces of wood standing up like a target about 20 metres away.

"When you're ready." Legolas told me.

I looked at the targets and then down at my bow, suddenly unsure of myself. I took an arrow from my quiver. I saw several Elves raise their bows. Legolas made a small hand signal and they lowered them, but still held them ready just in case.

I snorted, like I was going to shoot my hero.

I knocked the arrow on my bow and felt the smooth movements come easily to me. I drew back, aware of Legolas watching me. I felt my forefinger touch the corner of my mouth, aimed and let the arrow loose.

It shot away faster than I could blink. _Thwack!_ It hit the target with so much force it smashed right through it. Right on the bullseye to. I heard several gasps coming from the trees.

I looked back at the target and walked thirty or so metres further away. I heard Legolas quickly following me, light on his feet. No way would anyone want to be in front of me now. I turned around to the targets. I felt my quiver, knowing that I would still have almost two dozen arrows left. I smoothly took an arrow and sent it flying through the air, another speeding on its way behind it. I heard two thwacks as they each collided with their own target. I turned and jogged another 50 metres, repeating the exercise. I walked to a 200 metre mark and turned, wondering if the arrow would hit the target.

I faced the target, and took my arrow, nocked it and drew back. I breathed in, aiming my shot, and as I let my breath go, I released my arrow. _….Thwack!_ It hit the target. I let a small smile through walking back towards the targets to collect my arrows. None of them had missed their target.

I murmured under my breath, "An archer practises until he gets it right, a Ranger practises until he never gets it wrong." I grinned. I must be a fully fledged Ranger.

Legolas caught up to me. "Did you say Ranger?"

I glanced at him, "Hmm? Oh. Yes I did."

"Then you are of the Dunedain?"

Oh. I forgot that Middle-Earth had Rangers of their own. "Not one of your Rangers. A Ranger from a different land."

I walked away to another target, after collecting all my arrows, and took out my throwing knife. I felt the Elves come on alert even more than before. I lifted it up. The balance was perfect. I took a throwing stance and threw the knife in one swift arm motion towards the target. _Thud._ Another perfect shot. I knew now, that I had to have a horse somewhere out there. I was a full Ranger, and no Ranger has no horse.

I found out later that every single Elf was watching me shoot. I think I was held in a bit of awe. According to Legolas, none of them had ever seen such accurate and precise shooting, especially at such a long range with such a powerful bow.

I think the Elves were also more wary of me now.

I wondered what my horse's name was, as I went to bed that night. I heard Legolas go to bed on the other side of the wall. They had set a watch on me that night, so they could rest easy. Not that most of the Elves were resting. I could hear singing and music in the distance as I faded out to sleep.

I woke up to an alarm bell. It was loud and sounded like danger. I jumped out of bed and raced towards the sound, bow and quiver in hand. Legolas was just ahead of me with his own bow in hand. We got outside, and many other armed Elves were running towards the danger. I felt the thrill of adrenaline running through me as I reached the river.

There were a horde of orcs surrounding several Elves who looked as if they were out on patrol. The orc's terrible faces were snarling and gargling war cries. The Elves that were surrounded had their swords and blades out, stabbing the orcs closest. I started to shoot the orcs. I had 4 arrows on the loose before I moved forwards with the other Elves. I let loose several more arrows and more orcs fell before I moved again. Soon I had run out of arrows, and I looked around for another way to help. I noticed a stream of red running through the river. It looked like blood.

I followed it upstream, not sure what I was going to find, as there were no orc bodies up here. I just pulled my knife out and held it ready when I saw a slim body draped over the shore of the river, with blood coming out from a gash in his side. I looked around for danger, and saw another Elf lying on the ground groaning. I recognised them as the Elves who had left on patrol. I ran towards them, putting my knife away, I let out a piercing whistle, listening for an answer.

 _Why did I whistle? I cannot say. It just felt right. Like I knew there was someone or something listening out for me._

I reached the Elves and knelt beside them, ripping some cloth off myself and binding it tightly around each of the wounds, staunching their wounds but not stopping to blood flow. I told them they could trust me, I would get them back to Rivendell. The first Elf just groaned, and the other one whispered his thanks. I heard a faint neigh, a reply to my whistle.

 _My horse! I do have a horse!_ I smiled slightly at this small fact and felt my heart warm as I heard hoofbeats coming towards me. I turned around and saw a shaggy, dun coloured horse galloping towards me. He ran up to me and nuzzled his face into me.

I hugged him back and whispered, "It's good to see you, Atlas."

I don't know how I knew to call him, or his name, but it just came to me. Just in case, I thought, even though I could tell he recognised me, I whispered a phrase that came to me then into his ear. It means 'dear friend' in French.

"Cher Ami." Atlas nickered, and then turned his head towards the injured Elves. I knelt down and picked the first Elf up. Luckily, he was as light as several feathers. I lifted him up onto Atlas's saddle, which luckily, he was wearing. I made sure he was balanced before lifting up the other Elf and placing him behind the first Elf.

I turned to Atlas and told him to walk smoothly and quickly. He snorted, _of course I will. I always do. Who do you take me for?_ I rolled my eyes and started leading him forward, keeping an eye on the Elves to make sure they didn't fall off. I walked quickly, hoping they wouldn't lose too much blood before I reached Rivendell. Most of the orcs were dead or injured, and the Elves were moving around, scouting the area for any other orcs.

I heard footsteps running towards me. Atlas a slight sound so I knew he wasn't an enemy, but he could do harm. I turned around and saw several Elves running towards me. They had their bows raised.

"Where do you think you're going?" The closest Elf demanded. "And where did that horse come from?"

I quickly gestured to the hurt Elves on Atlas before the angry Elf decided to shoot me. "They are hurt. I am taking them to Rivendell. Look at the blood. We need to hurry."

The Elf glanced up at the injured Elves. "And how do I know you didn't do this yourself?"

I raised my hands in defence. "What would I have to gain. You have taken me into your homes. I would not harm any of your people. We need to hurry, they are going to bleed to death!"

I saw the Elf draw another breath to question me further, when one of the Elves on Atlas groaned and mumbled, "You… can trust him," The Elf drew a shuddering breath. "- he has done us no harm. It was the orcs."

I looked back at the other Elf. He looked me in the eye and said, "Hurry."

And I did.

I ran to Rivendell with Atlas coming as smoothly as he could beside me, to spare the Elves injury. I found I didn't get out of breath as quickly as I might have done in my other body. I was fitter than I had ever been before.

We reached Rivendell with one of the Elves on Atlas unconscious.

"Help! Quickly! We need help!" I shouted.

Several Elves who had not gone to the fight rushed out with some leaves and bandages. They came over to me as I was laying the two injured Elves on the ground.

"Orcs." I said.

The healers nodded and got to work murmuring strange words as they put together different leaves, presumably of healing properties.

I walked over to Atlas and mounted him, after saying that I was going to go back and help. I rode out of Rivendell, towards the river. Atlas picked his way through the trees in silence. So much silence that I wondered if I had gone the wrong way.

That's when I heard a twang and a whistle, too late, a sharp excruciating pain jabbed me in my left side of my stomach. I looked down and saw the feathers of an arrow sticking out. I felt a jarring force wack against my head and I tried to fight the darkness coming over my mind. I felt another impact and I heard Atlas whinnying in concern as I realised I must have fallen off him. My mind went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry guys, it's short, but it's better than nothing aye?

...

" _A fellowship."_

" _The innocent, the old, the royal, the fair and the stout, as well as the one who should not be trusted."_

The young man tossed and turned on his sheets, tangling them in his legs.

" _An adventure. The party will group, and later will split. The untrusted will prove himself."_

Sweat ran across his forehead as he muttered again, lost in his own mind.

" _Not all those who wander are lost."_

An older man stood next to the youngers' bed, wondering at how the youth new these things. It was like he was spouting prophecy.

 _Can we trust him?_ The man thought, watching the one in question toss and turn in pain.

...

I twisted and felt a stab of pain across my torso.

My mouth felt parched and spongy so I reached I hand across to the cup of water I always rested on my bedside table.

Unfortunately, my hand shot out too fast and it whacked into something solid. I mumbled out some kind of curse against the table and patted my hand around for my water glass. Still finding nothing, I groaned and rolled towards the table, cracking my eyes open. The table was empty. It was also not white.

 _I swear my table was white. Why would someone bother painting it? And removing my water too. Geez. How rude._

I grunted and rolled out of bed, landing with a heavy _thwump_ to the floor. Pain flared through me.

 _Shiiiiiiiiiiit. Ow ow ow ow! What the hell?!_

An amused chuckle pulled my from my mental string of curses.

"How in Middle-Earth is falling of your sleeping mattress going to help your wound heal?" The still-amused voice teased.

I stopped struggling with the sheets I was tangled in and just lay on the floor panting.

"Well for starters, what century _are_ you living in? Middle-Earth? Psht. It's the 20th century. Middle-Earth was years ago." I complained, stretching out the 'ears' in years for several seconds.

"And also, I have no wound. For your information, I have never even broken a bone, let alone had a major _wound_. So this pain that I'm grunting about? It's probably just that time of month."

I took that moment to whip the sheet of my head to glare at the intruder in my room. However, instead of my goth room-mate, I found a tall-long haired, graceful elf. I stared for a moment.

The I burst out laughing.

"Jiminy crickets Emma, this prank has gone far enough mate! Please take the costume off and stop pretending to be the pretty elf in one of my favourite book series." I chuckled again. "You got me good though, it's gonna be tough thinking of something as good to get you back."

The elf character just stared at me.

"Emma," I said, waving my hand around, "You can stop acting now."

'Emma' blinked, and said bluntly. "My name is Legolas Greenleaf. I think you must have been poisoned by the orc arrow. I will go fetch our best healers."

He stepped closer to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You'll be okay Alexander. Just stay here. I will be back soon." Legolas said.

Then he walked gracefully out of the room.

 _What. The. Hell._

I remembered a flashback from yesterday, how I woke up in the forest and came to Rivendell. I thought that was a dream. Looking down at my stomach, I saw it was wrapped in white bandages with a bit of blood stain on them. I noticed I was still a guy. Male parts, not female…. I hope that Legolas guy didn't get what I complained about earlier. I wonder what they did about that in Middle-Earth?

So this isn't a dream? I'm actually part of the Ranger Corps in the Lords of the Rings? What a mix-up. I'm so confused. But it can't be a dream right? No one can feel pain this clearly in a dream.

I clambered to my feet and walked to the door, gritting my teeth as my wound stabbed me with pain. Time to find some answers.

...

As I walked to a balcony and looked out, I caught sight of a familiar face. Having no idea how long I had passed out for, I realised it must have been longer than I thought.

I glanced down again and whispered, "All that is gold does not glitter."

The man before me was Aragorn, in all his tall, raggedy glory. As if he heard me, or perhaps he did, Aragorn looked up at me in confusion.

I took a step back, out of his sight, and in realisation, I said, "The fellowship is gathering."


End file.
